The Lonely Road

There are no short cuts to heaven. There are no easy roads to heaven. All roads do not lead to heaven. There is only one way to get in to heaven, and that is the narrow road. That narrow road is Jesus Christ Himself.

My friends, if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven, we need to walk that narrow, lonely road. Jesus Himself is the Way, the Life, and the Truth. If we want to enter the kingdom of heaven, we need to be willing to forsake everything--even ourselves--our own ambitions, and follow Jesus. We need to be willing, if necessary, to forsake family, friends, opportunities--even our own lives, to follow Jesus Christ. It is a lonely road, my friends. It is not an easy road, and no one is going to get into heaven easily. There are not many roads that lead to heaven. There is only one, and that is Jesus Christ.

My friend, if we believe in Jesus we obey Him, and we follow Him everyday step-by-step, every moment. His sheep know His voice, and they listen to Him. They follow Him, they stay close to Him. They are constantly focused on Him.

All that matters to a child of God is Jesus Christ--their relationship with the Master, with the King. He is the Lord, and He is Master. He is the King, and He invites us and says whoever wishes to follow Him must deny himself, pick up his cross daily, and follow Him.

We all have different dispositions. We all have different trials, but through those trials, and in those trials, and in spite of those handicaps, in spite of those trials, we need to stay focused on Jesus, and not allow anything to distract us, to take our attention off Jesus.

It's not an easy road, my friend. Jesus will lead you through lonely places. Quite often, you will have to decide between the acceptance of Christ, or the acceptance of people. You'll have to choose everyday. You'll have to choose a hundred times a day, and the only way to choose right is to stay focused on Jesus. Whatever happens in our lives, we've got to first ask the Lord, in your heart--say, "Lord, what decision do you want me to take? I want to remain true to You. I do not want to forsake You or deny You.” If we deny Him He will certainly deny us in front of His heavenly Father as well. That is what He promised. He is faithful. He will never leave us. He will never forsake us, but, if we forsake Him, if we turn our back on Him, then we've gone away from Him, my friends. And Jesus said that if we deny Him in front of this wicked generation, He will deny us also.

Many people deny Christ daily. When the boss tells a dirty joke, they laugh along, but Sunday they're in church. We think we can cheat God. We think we can deceive Jesus. He's right there. He knows our heart. He knows our intention. He knows what is going on inside, whether we really love Him or not.

My friend, we will be tested---whether we love Jesus more than friends, family, even the wife or the husband. This road is so narrow and so steep, that there are many spouses that do not walk this road together, and that is why it is written, "when the Son of man comes he says that two will be on one bed; the one will be taken, the other will be left behind. Two will be working in the field; the one will be taken, the other will be left.

My friends, narrow is the door, and few there be that find it. It is not in the fellowship of people. It's not in the crowds. It's on the lonely road with Christ. You've got to be willing to walk that lonely road, even if your wife decides she doesn't want to come along. You must make up your mind---do you want to follow Jesus, or are you going to compromise for the acceptance of your boss, your wife, your community? Where is your loyalty? Is it with Jesus or with other things? We will be tested my friends, and if we fail and deny Christ, He will deny us too. It's a lonely road, but it's the only road. It is a road where we steadfast, moment by moment stay focused on Jesus and follow Him; and He promised, He said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all the other things will be added unto you.

My friends, are you ready for the narrow road? Because there is only one way and that is stay focused on Jesus. Ask Him every step of the way for His guidance. Say, "Lord, what must I do?" And He will speak to you. He'll put it into your heart, and you will know exactly what He wants you to do. If you've gone wrong, turn back my friend. Go back to Jesus. Repent. Say, "Lord, I've let You down. I've walked away from You, but I'm back. Lord, I want to follow You until the end.